Automatic parking apparatus

ABSTRACT

The automatic parking apparatus includes: an image generation unit configured to generate an image of surroundings of an own vehicle photographed by a monitor device; a display unit; an input device configured to receive, a first touch input by the user for designating a parking place; a parking area calculation unit configured to determine whether a parking space for the own vehicle is available; a moving path calculation unit configured to determine at least one moving path candidate for guiding the own vehicle from a current location to a parking area, and to display the moving path candidate on the display unit; and a vehicle control processing unit configured to guide and control the own vehicle from the current location to the parking area in accordance with one moving path confirmed by the user operation from among the at least one moving path candidate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an automatic parking apparatusconfigured to cause a vehicle to automatically move to a set parkingspace in a simple manner.

2. Description of the Related Art

As the related art, there has been an apparatus configured to recognizean entrance of a parking section designated by an entrance designationindication, for example, a marker. Further, the related-art apparatuscalculates a traveling track of the own vehicle to be required until thevehicle reaches a parking space, that is, a parking area, after passingthrough the entrance. Such a related-art apparatus enables the ownvehicle to be automatically moved to the parking area along thetraveling track by controlling a travel driving force, a braking force,steering, and an automatic transmission of the own vehicle.

A marker recognition device included in the related-art apparatusrecognizes the marker provided in the parking lot and formed of, forexample, a white line within the parking lot. The related-art apparatuscauses the vehicle to automatically move to a predetermined parking areathrough the recognition result obtained by the marker recognitiondevice. For example, there has been known the related art in which themarker provided in the parking lot is used to set a target parkingsection, and the vehicle is moved or guided to the target parkingsection (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei10-269497).

However, the related art has the following problems.

The automatic parking apparatus of Japanese Patent Application Laid-openNo. Hei 10-269497 cannot be used in a parking lot in which the marker,for example, the white line, is not provided to the parking space. Thatis, the automatic parking apparatus of Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-open No. Hei 10-269497 cannot move or guide a vehicle to theparking area in which a user wishes to park the vehicle irrespective ofwhether or not the marker is provided to the parking lot. Further, theautomatic parking apparatus of Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.Hei 10-269497 does not allow the user to recognize or set the parkingarea in a simple manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in order to solve the problemsdescribed above, and has an object to provide an automatic parkingapparatus capable of allowing a user to easily recognize and set aparking area in which the user wishes to park a vehicle, and of movingor guiding the vehicle to the set parking space in a simple manner,regardless of whether or not a white line or other such mark is providedto the parking space.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is providedan automatic parking apparatus including: a monitor device configured tophotograph surroundings of an own vehicle; an image generation unitconfigured to generate an image of the surroundings of the own vehiclephotographed by the monitor device; a display unit configured to displaythe image generated by the image generation unit; an input deviceconfigured to receive, on a screen displayed on the display unit, afirst touch input by a user for designating a parking place; a parkingarea calculation unit configured to specify a parking area to which theown vehicle is to be moved based on the first touch input, and todetermine whether a parking space for the own vehicle is available inthe parking area; a moving path calculation unit configured to determineat least one moving path candidate for guiding the own vehicle from acurrent location to a parking area determined by the parking areacalculation unit as having the parking space, and to display the atleast one moving path candidate on the display unit; and a vehiclecontrol processing unit configured to receive a user operation forconfirming one moving path from among the at least one moving pathcandidate, and to guide and control the own vehicle from the currentlocation to the parking area in accordance with the one moving pathconfirmed by the user operation.

According to the present invention, the automatic parking apparatusincludes the feature of generating and displaying the image ofsurroundings of the own vehicle by the image generation unit based onthe image photographed by the monitor device, and the feature of guidingand controlling the own vehicle to the parking area designated inaccordance with the input operation by the user. As a result, it ispossible to provide the automatic parking apparatus capable of allowingthe user to easily recognize and set the parking area in which the userwishes to park the vehicle, and of moving or guiding the vehicle to theset parking space in a simple manner, regardless of whether or not awhite line or other such mark is provided to the parking space.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for illustrating a configuration of anautomatic parking apparatus according to a first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for illustrating an example of a series ofoperations of the automatic parking apparatus according to the firstembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for illustrating an example of a bird's-eye viewimage to be displayed on a display unit in the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4A is a diagram for illustrating an example of an operation ofsetting a target parking area by a user in the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4B is a diagram for illustrating an example of an operation ofsetting a target parking area by a user in the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4C is a diagram for illustrating an example of an operation ofsetting a target parking area by a user in the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for illustrating an operation performed when amoving path to the target parking area requires turning back of avehicle, and there are a plurality of paths requiring turning back of avehicle, in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram for illustrating a configuration of anautomatic parking apparatus according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for illustrating an example of a series ofoperations of the automatic parking apparatus according to the secondembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8A is a diagram for illustrating an example of an operation ofsetting the target parking area by the user in the second embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 8B is a diagram for illustrating an example of an operation ofsetting the target parking area by the user in the second embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 9A is a diagram for illustrating another example of the operationof setting the target parking area by the user in the second embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 9B is a diagram for illustrating another example of the operationof setting the target parking area by the user in the second embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram for illustrating a configuration of anautomatic parking apparatus according to a third embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart for illustrating an example of a series ofoperations of the automatic parking apparatus according to the thirdembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12A is a diagram for illustrating an example of an operation fordisplaying an off-screen target parking area in the third embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 12B is a diagram for illustrating an example of an operation fordisplaying an off-screen target parking area in the third embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 12C is a diagram for illustrating an example of an operation fordisplaying an off-screen target parking area in the third embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 13A is a diagram for illustrating an example of another operationfor displaying the off-screen target parking area in the thirdembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13B is a diagram for illustrating an example of another operationfor displaying the off-screen target parking area in the thirdembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14A is a diagram for illustrating an example of an operation ofsetting the off-screen target parking area in the third embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 14B is a diagram for illustrating an example of an operation ofsetting the off-screen target parking area in the third embodiment ofthe present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Now, an automatic parking apparatus according to embodiments of thepresent invention are described referring to the accompanying drawings.In the respective embodiments, the same components or correspondingcomponents are denoted by the same reference symbols, and theoverlapping description thereof is herein omitted.

First Embodiment

In a first embodiment of the present invention, a description is made ofthe automatic parking apparatus configured to display an image, which isobtained through photographing by a monitor device configured tophotograph surroundings of an own vehicle, on a display unit inside theown vehicle, and move the own vehicle to a target parking areadesignated within the image by a user.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for illustrating a configuration of theautomatic parking apparatus according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention. A monitor device 1 is mounted to a vehicle, andphotographs the surroundings of the own vehicle. An image processingdevice 2 displays an image obtained through the photographing by themonitor device 1, and receives an input operation from the user. Avehicle control device 3 controls the own vehicle based on the inputoperation received from the user.

The image processing device 2 includes an image generation unit 21, adisplay unit 2 a, an input device 2 b, and a parking area calculationunit 2 c. The image generation unit 21 receives a video signal obtainedby the monitor device 1, and converts the obtained video signal into abird's-eye view image. The image generation unit 21 also causes thedisplay unit 2 a to display the generated bird's-eye view image.

The input device 2 b receives an operation of inputting, for example,the target parking area from the user based on the bird's-eye view imagedisplayed on the display unit 2 a. The parking area calculation unit 2 cdetermines whether or not there are sufficient parking spaces in thetarget parking area input by the user.

The vehicle control apparatus 3 includes a moving path calculation unit31, a vehicle control processing unit 32, and an alarm device 3 a. Themoving path calculation unit 31 calculates, in accordance with theoperation of inputting the target parking area from the user, a movingpath of the vehicle based on a relationship between the current ownvehicle location area, namely, the own vehicle location area at thestart time of the parking operation, and the target parking area.

The vehicle control processing unit 32 controls driving of the vehiclein accordance with the moving path calculated by the moving pathcalculation unit 31. The moving path calculation unit 31 and the vehiclecontrol processing unit 32 can issue a suitable announcement relating toa calculation result and a processing result to the user via the alarmdevice 3 a.

In this case, it is assumed that the target parking area and the ownvehicle location area at the start time of the parking operation eachhave an area and a shape corresponding to the shape of a target vehicle.Further, in FIG. 1, the arrows each indicate how a signal flows.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for illustrating an example of a series ofoperations of the automatic parking apparatus according to the firstembodiment of the present invention. Operations of the respectivecomponents illustrated in FIG. 1 are now described with reference to theflowchart of FIG. 2.

First, the monitor device 1 mounted to the own vehicle photographs asurrounding environment of the own vehicle (Step ST101). The purpose ofthe monitor device 1 is to photograph the surroundings of the vehicle inorder to present the surrounding environment of the own vehicle as abird's-eye view image to be subsequently generated by the imageprocessing device 2. Therefore, not only one camera but also a pluralityof cameras may be mounted to the monitor device 1.

The image data obtained through the photographing is input to the imagegeneration unit 21 to generate the bird's-eye view image (Step ST102).Examples of a method of generating the bird's-eye view image include amethod of deforming the respective images obtained through thephotographing by cameras, which are mounted at four spots on the front,rear, left, and right sides of the vehicle, based on a transformationcorresponding to mounted positions of the cameras, and further joiningthe images, to thereby generate the birds-eye view image.

Such a monitor device 1, which photographs the respective images, isknown as a multi-angle surround-view monitor. Based on the respectiveimages photographed by the multi-angle surround-view monitor, the imagegeneration unit 21 can generate, for example, a bird's-eye view image ofall around the vehicle in which the own vehicle location area is at thecenter of the image.

The generated bird's-eye view image is displayed on the display screen 2a so as to be able to be confirmed by the user (Step ST103). In thismanner, the image obtained through the photographing by the monitordevice 1 is constantly updated in real time, and is displayed as abirds-eye view image.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for illustrating an example of a bird's-eye viewimage displayed on the display unit 2 a in the first embodiment of thepresent invention. In FIG. 3, there is illustrated an example in whichan image for showing an own vehicle location area CPA at the start timeof the parking operation is arranged at the center of the screen, and aview of the surroundings is displayed as a bird's-eye view image.

Next, the user, who wishes to automatically park the vehicle in adesired area on the display unit 2 a, performs an input operation on theimage processing device 2 by using the input device 2 b (Step ST104).The input device 2 b may be, for example, a transparent touch panelformed on the display unit 2 a or an operation button existingseparately from the display unit 2 a. As the input method performed whenthe input device 2 b is a transparent touch panel formed on the displayunit 2 a, the touch operation may be performed on a button OPB displayedon the touch panel, as illustrated in the example of FIG. 3.

When the input is started, the image generation unit 21 shifts to a useroperation mode (Step ST105), and prompts the user to designate thetarget parking area through, for example, dedicated display on thedisplay unit 2 a.

After that, the image generation unit 21 continues to receive anoperation for designating the target parking area from the user until aninput completion operation is performed (Step ST106).

FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C are diagrams for illustrating an example of theoperation of setting the target parking area by the user in the firstembodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 4A, anexample of the operation of inputting the target parking area is amethod in which the user draws on the displayed image an arrowindicating a parking location and direction based on a touch operationon the touch panel of the display unit 2 a. In this method, the user candesignate the parking location such that the axis of the drawn arrowmatches the center axis of the vehicle and the front end of the vehiclematches the tip of the arrow.

Next, the image generation unit 21 determines whether or not input iscomplete (Step ST107). Specifically, the image generation unit 21determines whether or not an input completion operation has beenperformed by the user. It is assumed that the input completion operationis performed in this case when, for example, the user's finger is liftedoff the touch panel during the operation of inputting the target parkingarea. In another case, it may also be assumed that the input completionoperation is the touching operation of a completion button OPB displayedon the touch panel by the user when input is complete.

As illustrated in FIG. 4B, when a parking area PA is designated by aninput completion operation by the user, the parking area calculationunit 2 c determines whether or not there are sufficient parking spacesin the parking area PA (Step ST108). When it is determined that thereare not sufficient parking spaces in the parking area PA, the parkingarea calculation unit 2 c prompts the user to re-input a target parkingarea. The detection of the parking area by the parking area calculationunit 2 c may be performed by using a laser radar or other such sensorcapable of detecting three-dimensional objects, for example.

When it is determined that the vehicle can be parked, coordinateinformation on the own vehicle location area CPA on the screen andcoordinate information on the designated parking area PA on the screenare input from the image generation unit 21 to the moving pathcalculation unit 31 of the vehicle control device 3. The moving pathcalculation unit 31 then estimates the moving path for guiding the ownvehicle present in the own vehicle location area CPA to the parking areaPA based on those pieces of coordinate information (Step ST109).

In the processing for estimating the moving path, the moving pathcalculation unit 31 refers to a vehicle size of the own vehicle, aturnable radius thereof, and the like in addition to a positionalrelationship between the coordinate information on the own vehiclelocation area CPA and the coordinate information on the designatedparking area PA on the screen.

In FIG. 4C, there is illustrated a state in which a moving path MPestimated by the moving path calculation unit 31 is displayed.

As described above, the moving path calculation unit 31 estimates themoving path MP by using the coordinate information on the own vehiclelocation area CPA on the screen, the coordinate information on thedesignated parking area PA on the screen, the longitudinal and laterallengths of the own vehicle, namely, the vehicle size defined by thelength and the width, the turnable radius thereof, a preset speedpattern of the vehicle at the time of the parking operation, and othersuch information.

Specifically, the moving path calculation unit 31 estimates the movingpath MP by moving the vehicle so that a center line L1 of the vehiclewithin the own vehicle location area. CPA matches a center line L2 ofthe parking area PA along the parking direction of the vehicle.

In this case, the moving path calculation unit 31 estimates the movingpath MP in consideration of a range that allows the own vehicle to movebased on the information on the vehicle size, the turnable radius, andthe like of the own vehicle. The moving path calculation unit 31performs the estimation so that, in terms of the location of the vehiclewithin the parking area PA in the front-and-rear direction, a centerline L3 of the vehicle along the lateral direction matches a center lineL4 of the vehicle within the parking area PA along a directionperpendicular to the parking direction of the vehicle.

In the example described above, center lines are employed as referencelines for estimating the moving path MP. However, for example, in placeof a center line, a line along any one of the left and right ends of thevehicle or along any one of the front and rear ends of the vehiclewithin the own vehicle location area CPA or the parking area PA may beemployed as the reference line.

When estimating the moving path MP, the moving path calculation unit 31determines whether or not turning back of the vehicle is required basedon a positional relationship between the own vehicle location area CPAat the start time of the operation and the parking area PA. In FIG. 4C,there is illustrated an example in which turning back of the vehicle isnot required, and the vehicle can be parked by only moving backward fromthe beginning.

On the other hand, FIG. 5 is a diagram for illustrating an operationperformed when a moving path to the target parking area requires turningback of the vehicle and there are a plurality of paths requiring turningback of the vehicle in the first embodiment of the present invention. Apath A illustrated in FIG. 5 is a combination of a moving path MPa1 inwhich the vehicle is first moved forward and a moving path MPa2 in whichthe vehicle is then moved backward. Meanwhile, a path B illustrated inFIG. 5 is a combination of a moving path MPb1 in which the vehicle isfirst moved backward and a moving path MPb2 in which the vehicle is thenmoved forward.

The moving path calculation unit 31 determines whether or not turningback of the vehicle is required, and then estimates the moving path MPby gradually causing each of the reference line of the own vehiclelocation area CPA and the reference line of the parking area PA to matcheach other in accordance with the speed pattern of the vehicle at thetime of the parking operation.

The moving path MP estimated in this manner is transmitted from themoving path calculation unit 31 to the image generation unit 21. Theimage generation unit 21 then displays the estimated moving path MP onthe display unit 2 a for the user (Step ST110).

The moving path calculation unit 31 included in the vehicle controlapparatus 3 uses the bird's-eye view image to calculate the moving path,and hence the moving path calculation unit 31 may be included in theimage processing device 2. The same applies to the configurations ofFIG. 6 and FIG. 10 described later.

The user designates a desired path from the displayed paths through theinput device 2 b (Step ST111). As illustrated in FIG. 4C, when turningback of the vehicle is not required, and the vehicle can be parked byonly moving backward from the beginning, the user presses a selectionbutton X displayed on the touch panel. On the other hand, as illustratedin FIG. 5, when a plurality of moving paths MP are displayed, the userselects a selection button A or B displayed on the touch panel.

When the moving path MP is selected by the user in this manner, theselection signal is input to the moving path calculation unit 31, andthe moving path MP is determined (Step ST112). The determined movingpath MP is input to the vehicle control processing unit 32. Then, thevehicle control processing unit 32 executes control for guiding the ownvehicle from the own vehicle location area CPA to the parking area PA inaccordance with the moving path MP (Step ST113).

In this way, the automatic parking apparatus according to the firstembodiment includes the following features.

-   -   Feature of enabling the user to easily designate the parking        area in which the user wishes to park.    -   Feature of estimating one or more optimum moving paths from a        current own vehicle location to a designated parking area, and        displaying the estimated moving path(s) on a bird's-eye view        image.    -   Feature of enabling the user to select the desired moving path        from among the one or more displayed moving paths.    -   Feature of automatically guiding and controlling the own vehicle        from the own vehicle location area to the parking area based on        a selection result by the user.

Through the inclusion of such features, regardless of whether or not awhite line or other such mark is provided to the parking space, the usercan easily recognize and set the parking area in which the user wishesto park, and the vehicle can be easily and automatically guided andcontrolled to the desired parking area.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 6 is a block diagram for illustrating a configuration of anautomatic parking apparatus according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention. The configuration illustrated in FIG. 6 of the secondembodiment differs from the configuration of FIG. 1 of the firstembodiment in terms of further including an image recognition processingunit 22 and an input style determination unit 23, but the other partsare the same as in the first embodiment. Those differences are nowdescribed in detail.

The image recognition processing unit 22 recognizes objects, forexample, a vehicle and a parking frame, present on the display unit 2 a.When the automatic parking apparatus has a plurality of input methods tobe performed during designation of the desired parking location by theuser, the input style determination unit 23 automatically discriminatesan input style based on the information on the operation by the user.

As a result of the added features described above, a more intuitiveinput method can be achieved that is different from the parking locationinput method described in the first embodiment, and the parking locationdesignated by the user can be finely adjusted automatically inaccordance with the surrounding environment. The specific processing ofthe automatic parking apparatus according to the second embodiment isdescribed in detail with reference to FIG. 7 to FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for illustrating an example of a series ofoperations of the automatic parking apparatus according to the secondembodiment of the present invention. Now, operations of the respectivecomponents illustrated in FIG. 6 are described with reference to theflowchart of FIG. 7.

The processing from Step ST201 to Step ST205 is the same as theprocessing from Step ST101 to Step ST105 of the first embodiment.

After the shift to the user operation mode in Step ST205, the imagerecognition processing unit 22 performs processing of recognizing aparked vehicle different from the own vehicle and a parking frame thatare present in the bird's-eye view image generated by the imagegeneration unit 21. The image recognition processing unit 22 then storesin a storage unit location information indicating the location on theimage in which the vehicle and the parking frame are present (StepST206). The stored location information is used when input is performedin accordance with the input style of FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B, which isdescribed later, and when processing of estimating/correcting thelocation and direction of the own vehicle after designation of theparking location (Step ST211) is performed.

The processing from Step ST207 to Step ST209 is the same as theprocessing from Step ST106 to Step ST108 of the first embodiment.However, in the second embodiment, in addition to the input styleillustrated in FIG. 4A, namely, drawing an arrow, for example, cases inwhich a plurality of input styles exist can be taken into consideration.

FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are diagrams for illustrating an example of theoperation of setting the target parking area by the user in the secondembodiment of the present invention. The first of the plurality of inputstyles to be described in the second embodiment is, for example, asillustrated in FIG. 8A, a so-called dragging style in which a parkedvehicle that is already present on the bird's-eye view image is touchedand slid.

In this dragging style, there is a benefit in that the user can moreintuitively designate a parking area PA like that illustrated in FIG. 8Bwhen the user wishes to park the own vehicle in parallel to a parkedvehicle that is already present.

FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B are diagrams for illustrating another example of theoperation of setting the target parking area by the user in the secondembodiment of the present invention. The second of the plurality ofinput styles to be described in the second embodiment is, for example,as illustrated in FIG. 9A, a style in which the parking location isdesignated by only touching one point on the touch panel.

In this style, the sliding operation by the user for designating thedirection is omitted, and the parking direction is estimated from thesurrounding environment by performing processing of automaticallyestimating the parking direction as described below (Step ST211). Inthis style, there is a benefit in that a parking area PA like thatillustrated in FIG. 9B can be designated while placing a less burden onthe user during input as compared with the above-mentioned draggingstyle.

After input is complete of the parking location by the user using astyle like that illustrated in FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C, FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B,or FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B, based on the input operation information, theinput style determination unit 23 discriminates which of the stylesillustrated in FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C, FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B, and FIG. 9A andFIG. 9B has been employed for the input operation (Step ST210).

For example, the input style determination unit 23 can determine whetherthe style illustrated in FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C or whether the styleillustrated in FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B has been employed by discriminating,based on the lengths of the start point and the end point, whether theuser touched only one point or performed a sliding operation after thetouch operation. When the user has performed a sliding operation, andthe parked vehicle recognized in Step ST206 is present at the startpoint of that sliding operation, the input style determination unit 23can determine that the employed style is the style illustrated in FIG.8A and FIG. 8B.

After discrimination of the input style, the parking area PA isdesignated. In this processing, before estimating the moving path, themoving path calculation unit 31 estimates and corrects the parkinglocation and direction (Step ST211). More specifically, when the inputstyle is a one-touch operation like that illustrated in FIG. 9A and FIG.9B, the moving path calculation unit 31 estimates and corrects theparking location and direction of the own vehicle based on the locationand direction of the adjacent parked vehicle or parking frame recognizedin advance in Step ST206.

For example, the moving path calculation unit 31 can perform thisestimation and correction by matching the direction of the adjacentparked vehicle and then aligning the front-end position of the ownvehicle. When the location designated by the user is inside a parkingframe, the moving path calculation unit 31 can correct the location sothat the designated location fits within the parking frame, and canestimate the direction based on another parked vehicle.

The processing of Step ST212 and the subsequent steps is the same as theprocessing of Step ST109 and the subsequent steps of the firstembodiment, and hence a description thereof is omitted here.

In this way, the automatic parking apparatus according to the secondembodiment includes the following feature in addition to the features ofthe first embodiment.

-   -   Feature of enabling the parking area in which the user wishes to        park to be easily designated by a dragging style on the touch        panel or a style of touching one point on the touch panel.

Through the further inclusion of such a feature, regardless of whetheror not a white line or other such mark is provided to the parking space,the user can more intuitively and easily recognize and set the parkingarea in which the user wishes to park, and the vehicle can be easily andautomatically guided and controlled to the desired parking area.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 10 is a block diagram for illustrating a configuration of anautomatic parking apparatus according to a third embodiment of thepresent invention. The configuration illustrated in FIG. 10 of the thirdembodiment differs from the configuration of FIG. 6 of the secondembodiment in terms of further including an image storage unit 24, butthe other parts are the same as in the first embodiment. Thosedifferences are now described in detail.

The image storage unit 24 temporarily stores a fixed amount of data ofthe bird's-eye view image generated by the image generation unit 21. Thefixed amount of data includes the image to be displayed as a portionthereof. Through the addition of this feature, when the user wishes todesignate a parking location in an area outside the screen display, aparking location in an area that is outside the display on the initialscreen can be designated by sliding the screen display location. Thespecific processing of the automatic parking apparatus according to thethird embodiment is now described in detail with reference to FIG. 11 toFIGS. 14A and 14B.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart for illustrating an example of a series ofoperations of the automatic parking apparatus according to the thirdembodiment of the present invention. Operations of the respectivecomponents illustrated in FIG. 10 are now described with reference tothe flowchart of FIG. 11.

The processing of Step ST301 and Step ST302 is the same as theprocessing of Step ST201 and Step ST202 of the second embodiment. In thethird embodiment, the bird's-eye view image generated by the imagegeneration unit 21 is stored in the image storage unit 24 as a fixedamount of image data including the image to be displayed as a portionthereof (Step ST303). The stored bird's-eye view image is used in thedisplay processing (Step ST310) of an off-screen area, which isdescribed later.

After that, the processing from Step ST304 to Step ST308 is the same asthe processing from Step ST203 to Step ST207 of the second embodiment.The processing from after reception of the input of the parking locationfrom the user until input completion, which is a feature of the thirdembodiment, is now described.

During the operation of inputting the parking location by the user, whenthe user wishes to park in a location outside the screen display, theimage generation unit 21 receives an operation on the display of anoff-screen area designated by the user (Step ST309). The operationmethod performed at this stage is described with reference to FIG. 12Ato FIG. 12C, FIG. 13A, and FIG. 13B.

FIG. 12A to FIG. 12C are diagrams for illustrating an example of anoperation for displaying an off-screen target parking area in the thirdembodiment of the present invention. For example, as illustrated in FIG.12A, when the user touches a dedicated off-screen display buttondisplayed at the upper right of the touch panel, the image generationunit 21 switches to an off-screen display mode as illustrated in FIG.12B.

In the off-screen display mode, when the user touches or slides a screenedge of the location that the user wishes to slide and display, asillustrated in FIG. 12C, the image generation unit 21 can display theoff-screen location desired by the user.

FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B are diagrams for illustrating an example ofanother operation for displaying the off-screen target parking area inthe third embodiment of the present invention. In the off-screen displaymode illustrated in FIG. 13A, as illustrated in FIG. 13B, the imagegeneration unit 21 can also display the off-screen location desired bythe user when the user maintains for a fixed period of time or more astate of touching the screen edge of the location that the user wishesto slide and display, and then performs a sliding operation.

During this operation, a bird's-eye view image of the off-screen areadisplayed on the touch panel is required. Therefore, in the thirdembodiment, a bird's-eye view image of the off-screen area displayed onthe touch panel can be slidably displayed by reading the bird's-eye viewimage data stored in the image storage unit 24 (Step ST310).

After the desired off-screen area has been displayed in this manner, theuser designates the parking location based on the above-mentionedplurality of operation styles.

With the features of the third embodiment, the following methods ofdesignating the parking location are also possible. FIG. 14A and FIG.14B are diagrams for illustrating an example of the operation of settingthe off-screen target parking area in the third embodiment of thepresent invention. As illustrated in FIG. 14A and FIG. 14B, when theuser touches a desired position on the screen and performs a slidingoperation, the image generation unit 21 rotates and slidably moves theportion of the view other than the own vehicle, and displays thebird's-eye view image on the touch panel.

The rotation operation may be achieved by, for example, an operationthat uses two fingers. In this manner, the image generation unit 21 ofthe third embodiment moves and rotates the view side of the bird's-eyeview image in accordance with the user operation, and displays thebird's-eye view image at the location in which the user wishes tofinally park the own vehicle.

With the above-mentioned operations and processing, a desireddesignation operation can be performed even when the user wishes todesignate an off-screen area for the parking location. The processing ofStep ST311 and the subsequent steps is the same as the processing ofStep ST208 and the subsequent steps of the second embodiment.

In this way, the automatic parking apparatus according to the thirdembodiment includes the following feature in addition to the features ofthe second embodiment.

-   -   Feature of enabling a location outside the area of the        initially-displayed bird's-eye view image to be designated as        the parking location based on a touch input operation by the        user.

Through the further inclusion of this feature, regardless of whether ornot a white line or other such mark is provided to the parking space,the user can easily recognize and set an area in which the user wishesto park that is outside the area of the initially-displayed birds-eyeview image, and the vehicle can be easily and automatically guided andcontrolled to the desired parking area.

The present invention is not limited to the respective first to thirdembodiments described above, and includes every possible combination ofthose.

What is claimed is:
 1. An automatic parking apparatus, comprising: amonitor device configured to photograph surroundings of an own vehicle;an image generation unit configured to generate an image of thesurroundings of the own vehicle photographed by the monitor device; adisplay unit configured to display the image generated by the imagegeneration unit; an input device configured to receive, on a screendisplayed on the display unit, a first touch input by a user fordesignating a parking place; a parking area calculation unit configuredto specify a parking area to which the own vehicle is to be moved basedon the first touch input, and to determine whether a parking space forthe own vehicle is available in the parking area; a moving pathcalculation unit configured to determine at least one moving pathcandidate for guiding the own vehicle from a current location to aparking area determined by the parking area calculation unit as havingthe parking space, and to display the at least one moving path candidateon the display unit; and a vehicle control processing unit configured toreceive a user operation for confirming one moving path from among theat least one moving path candidate, and to guide and control the ownvehicle from the current location to the parking area in accordance withthe one moving path confirmed by the user operation.
 2. An automaticparking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the parking placeis designated by the user performing the first touch input as a singleline formed from a start point and an end point, the parking areacalculation unit sets a center axis connecting the end point and thestart point of the own vehicle to be a center axis of the own vehicleand sets the end point to be at a location matching a front end of theown vehicle, to thereby specify the parking area from the parking placedesignated by the user.
 3. An automatic parking apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein, when the parking place is designated by the userperforming the first touch input as a dragging style of touching andsliding a parked vehicle that is already present, the parking areacalculation unit specifies the parking area from the parking placedesignated by the user so that the own vehicle is caused to be parked ina slid location and in parallel to the parked vehicle.
 4. An automaticparking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the parking placeis designated by the user performing the first touch input as a style oftouching one point in a space adjacent to a parked vehicle that isalready present, the parking area calculation unit specifies the parkingarea from the parking place designated by the user so that the ownvehicle is caused to be parked in the adjacent space and in parallel tothe parked vehicle.
 5. An automatic parking apparatus according to claim1, wherein, when the parking place is to be designated by the userperforming the first touch input as a sliding style of moving androtating an image of a background portion corresponding to an imageother than the own vehicle, the image generation unit fixes a displaylocation of the own vehicle, and displays on the display unit a combinedimage obtained by superimposing an image having a fixed display locationof the own vehicle on an image in which the image of the backgroundportion has been moved and rotated based on an input operation by thesliding style, and the parking area calculation unit specifies, as aresult of the user determining, while looking at the combined image,that the own vehicle has moved to an appropriate parking location andending the input operation by the sliding style, the parking area basedon a relative relationship between a location of the image of thebackground portion and a location of the own vehicle at an end point ofthe input operation.
 6. An automatic parking apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the input device is configured to receive a secondtouch input for designating, as a touch input for desiring an imagedisplay of an area that is outside an initial image displayed on thedisplay unit, an outer-side location, which is desired by the user, ofthe initial image, wherein the image generation unit is configured togenerate an image including the initial image as the image of thesurroundings of the own vehicle, to store the generated image includingthe initial image in a storage unit, to extract an image including theouter-side location from the storage unit when the second touch inputhas been performed, and to display on the display unit the extractedimage including the outer-side location, and wherein the input device isconfigured to receive the first touch input for the image including theouter-side location.
 7. An automatic parking apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the moving path calculation unit is configured toautomatically adjust a location of the parking area based on environmentinformation on surroundings including at least one of a parked vehicleor a parking frame.
 8. An automatic parking apparatus according to claim7, wherein, when the parked vehicle is present, the moving pathcalculation unit automatically adjusts a direction of the own vehicle sothat the adjusted direction matches a direction of the parked vehicle.